SPLIT, Croatia - Most of us are familiar with the World Cup concept - nations competing against each other with some form of a winner-take-all prize.

I'm sure most of you are asking yourselves, "What exactly is the Continental Cup?"

Well, it's the same meet...sort of.

The IAAF World Cup was a meet that pitted eight separate men's and women's teams, five continental and three national, against each other. The winning men's and women's teams from the preceding European Team Championships qualified at the national teams together with the United States. The continental teams comprised the best of the rest of Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. The meet began in 1977 and was held every two years until 1981 when it was then held every four years.

After the last World Cup meet in Athens in 2006, the IAAF blew up the format and came up with the Continental Cup, which will pit four mixed-gender teams - Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia/Oceania - against each other. It is now the only world cup-style event contested by teams representing entire continents rather than individual nations.